Geoff Wheeler looks out for business opportunities

A quick reminder to local businesses. As part of SDC’s efforts to stimulate the local economy and support jobs in the district, we have joined a website of local authorities which allows businesses to see and pitch for opportunities to supply us with goods and services.

Thirty other councils in the region have also signed up, including the county council, so there are likely to be many valuable business opportunities which come up in the months and years ahead. We alone spend millions of pounds locally and it would be great to see more local businesses benefit. Visit www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk to find out more.

Wednesday, March 19 – boundary changes

I’ve mentioned this issue before, but this was the first opportunity for councillors to discuss and debate important changes, between themselves, which have to be made to the electoral boundaries for the wards which your district councillors represent. Wards should have roughly an equal number of voters to ensure that everyone’s vote has roughly same power or weight. One of the key things that has to be decided is the future size of the council in terms of the number of councillors that represent you.

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As you’d expect, discussion was lively on this issue as it is an important one for the council and its councillors. Ultimately, a decision will be made in June and the outcomes from this review will probably see the boundary changes come into effect in 2016.

This meeting has a pretty substantial focus on regeneration projects in the district so if you’re interested in such matters it could well be worth attending or viewing the meeting online at www.stroud.gov.uk/webcast

The first two items cover two major initiatives which were stymied by the recent economic downturn. The first of these is Brimscombe Port. The port was a key component in the canal restoration project, however the collapse in land prices and the property market meant that the economic opportunities available to regenerate the port all but vanished. There has been good progress recently with lettings, however, including a skate park and indoor football pitches.

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Second, an update on the Littlecombe regeneration project in the south of the district will also be given. Once again, the crash in 2007 had a huge impact on this development which saw construction projects across the country come to a halt.

I’m delighted to see that pace has picked up in recent times and it’s full steam ahead for this impressive development which comprises homes, businesses, a hospital and spaces for leisure and wildlife. A new website has recently gone live for the development at www.littlecombe.co.uk Worth a look, or better still pop along to see for yourself.

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